Waterman (population 1,224) is located on U.S. Route 30 just west of Il. Route 23.
This places Waterman about 12 miles south of Dekalb in the mid-southern portion of Dekalb County. The Burlington
Northern Railroad runs through the center of town.

The town was originally named Prairie Road after a post office was set up in 1860. The name of the town
was changed to Waterman Station as it was set up along the newly formed Chicago & Iowa Railroad in 1871. The town was
named after Daniel R. Waterman, who worked for the railroad. The name of the town was changed to simply "Waterman"
in 1883.

The history of the high school in Waterman is in need of further research. The roots of the school
probably trace back to the early 1900s. The high school was a staple in the community for several years. Based
on information found on the IHSA web site (www.ihsa.org) a consolidation effort between Waterman and its neighbor to the west, Shabbona, became a reality in 1993.
It was that summer that the two schools merged to form the Indian Creek School District.

The Waterman Wolverines excelled in boys basketball and had individual medal winners in boys and girls
track & field. There were some excellent soccer teams at WHS in the 1980s as well. It is probable other
sports such as baseball for boys and basketball and softball for girls were offered. We are hopeful a knowledgeable
person will provide us with this information.

Waterman High School lays claim to a unique footnote in IHSA sports history. The first female Athletic
Director for both boys and girls high school sports was assigned in Waterman. Ms. Peggy Adams served as AD
for Waterman High School in 1979. She is now known as Dr. Peggy Jones.

Waterman High School Gymnasium

Boys Basketball

The Waterman boys EXCELLED in basketball in the 1930s and 1940s. Included were the following results:

6 - District Titles

5 - Regional Titles

2 - Sectional Titles

2 - Elite Eight Appearances

All of this under the old one-class system in Illinois! Two District titles were also won in the 1950s.

Some scores from the annual IHSA Tournament were located on a website titled "Illinois Postseason Basketball Scores." These scores and season summaries (as best can be researched) are listed below.

1921-22 Aurora District
Tournament
Coach's name & record needed

1st
Rd Beat Plano 26-19

Lost in 2nd Rd, score unavailable

1922-23 Postseason scores, record, and coach's name needed

1923-24 Postseason scores, record, and coach's name needed

1924-25 Postseason scores, record, and coach's name needed

1925-26 Postseason scores, record, and coach's name needed

1926-27 Postseason scores, record, and coach's name needed

1927-28 Postseason scores, record, and coach's name needed

1928-29 Postseason scores, record, and coach's name needed

1929-3028 - 3Elite 8 Finalist - 1-Class
System!Coach Ernie Eveland

District & Sectional Champions!

District Scores Needed

Joliet Sectional Champions

1st Rd Beat Waukegan 26-19

Semi-final Beat Elgin 16-13

Title Game Beat Wheaton 18-15

Elite
Eight Finalists

Lost
to Beardstown 29 - 27 (4 O/Ts**)

**This four overtime game is still an IHSA record for a state tournament game.

"The most memorable Basketball player I had the privilege to coach was Ron Shoger at
Waterman High School during his Sophomore and Junior years. Ron was a talented ball player as well as a terrific coach
and leader on the floor."

1967-68
8 - 16 Hampshire Distict Tournament
Coach Junior Overmyer

1st Rd Beat Kirkland Hiawatha 67-66

Semi-final lost to Shabonna 65-41

Shabonna lost in title game

1968-69
4 - 14 Shabonna Distict Tournament
Coach Junior Overmyer

1st Rd lost to Burlington Central

Burlington
Central lost in title game

1969-70
Little Ten Conf. Tourney ChampsCoach
Junior Overmyer

Season record needed

Hinckley District Tourney Score

1st Rd lost to Burlington Central 81-73 (2 O/Ts)

Burlington Central lost in title game

1970-71 Burlington
District Tourney
Coach Junior Overmyer

Season record needed

Burlington District Tourney Score

1st Rd lost to Burlington Central 83-75 (3 O/Ts)

Burlington Central lost in title game

1971-72 Kirkland
Class 'A' Regional Tournament Coach Junior
Overmyer

1st Rd lost to Burlington Central 46-41

Burlington Central lost in semi-final round

1972-73 3 - 18 Burlington Regional Tourney
Coach Junior Overmyer

1st Rd lost to Kaneland 55-27

Kaneland beat Malta in title game

1973-74 Kirkland
Regional Tourney
Coach Junior Overmyer

1st
Rd lost to Kaneland 62-38

Hampshire
beat Kaneland in title game

1974-75 Burlington
Regional Tourney
Coach Junior Overmyer

1st
Rd lost to Malta 65-52

Burlington Central beat Kaneland in title game

1975-76 9
- 12 Sandwich Regional Tourney Coach
Junior Overmyer

1st Rd lost to Yorkville 57-50

Aurora
Central Catholic beat Plano in title game

1976-77 Plano
Regional Tourney
Coach's name & Record Needed

1st Rd lost to Chicago Harvard St. George 62-50

Aurora Central Catholic beat Harvard St. George in title game

1977-78 Sandwich
Regional Tourney Coach's
name & Record Needed

1st
Rd lost to Hinckley-Big Rock 42-37

Newark
beat Serena in title game

1978-79 Sandwich
Regional Tourney Coach's
name & Record Needed

1st
Rd lost to Yorkville 85-41

Yorkville
beat Newark in title game

1979-80 Somonauk Regional
Tourney Coach's
name & Record Needed

1st Rd lost to Hinckley-Big Rock 57-51

Shabonna beat Newark in title game

1980-81 Sandwich
Regional Tourney Coach's
name & Record Needed

1st Rd Beat Sandwich 65-45

Semi-Final lost to Serena 62-42

Serena beat Newark in title game

1981-82 Somonauk Regional
Tourney Coach's
name & Record Needed

1st Rd lost to Sandwich 57-55

Somonauk
beat Newark in title game

1982-83 Sandwich
Regional Tourney Coach's
name & Record Needed

1st
Rd lost to Newark 93-59

Newark
beat H-BR in title game

1983-84
Postseason scores, record, and coach's name needed

1984-85 Plano
Regional Tourney
Coach's name & Record Needed

1st Rd Beat Leland 50-41

Semi-Final lost to Serena

Serena beat Somonauk in title game

1985-86
17 - 9 Somonauk Regional Tourney
Coach Jeff Lewiston

1st Rd Beat Plano 56-45

Semi-Final lost to Newark 78-52

Newark beat Yorkville in title game

1986-87
8 - 16 Sandwich Regional Tourney Coach
Frank Oblak

1st
Rd lost to Sandwich 55-53

Newark beat Shabonna in title game

1987-88
Postseason scores, record, and coach's name needed

1988-89 Somonauk Regional
Tourney Coach's
name & Record Needed

1st Rd lost to Leland 76-33

Somonauk
beat Sandwich in title game

1989-90 Sandwich
Regional Tourney Coach's
name & Record Needed

1st
Rd lost to Shabonna 60-48

Yorkville
beat Shabonna in title game

1990-91 Shabonna
Regional Tourney Coach's
name & Record Needed

1st Rd Beat Somonauk 66-46

Semi-Final lost to Plano 55-54

Yorkville beat Plano in title game

1991-92 Somonauk Regional
Tourney Coach's
name & Record Needed

1st Rd lost to Newark 90-68

Somonauk
beat Yorkville in title game

1992-93 Plano
Regional Tourney
Coach's name & Record Needed

**1st Rd lost to Plano 85-66

Sandwich beat Plano in title game

**Final boys basketball game for Waterman High School. Became part of the Indian Creek High School District with Shabonna in the summer of 1993.

**Waterman
High School at one time hosted their own Thanksgiving Tournament.

Waterman High School Running Track

Boys Track & Field

A total of four medals were won by three different athletes from Waterman at the IHSA State Track Meet. These accomplishments
are listed below.

1955-56 Little Ten Conference Champions
Coach Joe Newton

1978-79 Dan Nicoson
One Mile Run 2nd Place

1979-80 Dan Nicoson
3200 Meter Run 6th Place

1992-93 Bob Bogle
Triple Jump 5th Place

1992-93 Brandon Merchant Long Jump 6th
Place

Girls Track & Field

Two Lady Wolverines brought home a total of four medals which were earned by two athletes. In fact, one of the athletes,
Patti Findlay, made four consecutive trips to the state meet earning three medals in the high jump! The
accomplishments for the Lady Wolverines are listed below.

1978-79 Patti Findlay High Jump
3rd Place

1979-80 Patti Findlay High Jump 4th
Place

1980-81 Patti Findlay High Jump
3rd Place

1982-83 Ginger Findlay 400 Meter Dash 6th Place

Waterman High School "Crows Nest" & Scoreboard

Boys Soccer

The Waterman boys soccer team had some great seasons as well. The team of 1984-85 won the school's only Regional
in this sport. Under the leadership of long-time coach Richard Townsend, the Waterman High soccer
program was one of the best in the area, regardless of school size. Check out the credentials of the players and their
coach below.

1984-85 Regional Champions
Coach Richard Townsend

Team scored 134 goals during season - #8 in IHSA History

Defeated Paw Paw 17 - 0 #6 all-time for goals in one game!

*Player Dale Peterson - 1982-85

*119 Career Goals - #15 All-Time in IHSA History

* 55 Goals in 1983-84 season - #5 All-time

* 54 Goals in 1984-85 season - #6 All-time

* 7 Goals in win over Paw Paw

*Player Mark Fenske - 1987-90

*114 Career Goals - #19 All-Time in IHSA History

*
41 Goals in 1988-89 season

Girls Basketball

The girls basketball program got an early start when th team was formed in the very early 1900s. All schools were forced
to eliminate girls basketball around 1911 by order of the IHSA. The program was alowed to be reinstated in 1978. Linda
Hess provided the following information to us:

"Waterman HS had Girls Basketball Teams: in 1905 Waterman HS beat Plano High School: 4-2. Seventy-five years
later, in 1978, the PHS girls basketball team beat Waterman 75-12. This was the "first" girls BB team for Waterman...at
least in the modern era."

Football

Linda Hess' research also discovered some scores from the Waterman High School football team that were
played in 1925-1928. Conference historian Tom Sikorski provided the win-loss totals from these seasons.

(NOTE: Conference historian Tom Sikorski notes that there is one result
missing from this season.)

1927 5-1 Coach E.G. Croft

Waterman HS beat Plano HS 7-6 and 46-7

1928 0-5 Coach unknown

Waterman HS lost to Plano HS 0-38 (NOTE: there may have been more games, since Tom Sikorski's records
show gaps where there may have been games played but newspaper or yearbook account are unavailable.)

Boys Cross-Country

During various seasons the boys competed in Cross Country as well.

1946-47 Little Ten Conference Runner-Up Coach Hartley

1955-56 Little Ten Conference Champions Coach Joe Newton

Waterman HS Track & Cross-Country 1955-56

Waterman HS Yearbook

Boys Baseball

The Waterman High School boys competed in baseball as well. Some of the season
records located in yearbooks are listed below.

1952-53
Coach R.L. Metcalf

1953-54 4
- 2 Coach R.L. Metcalf

1954-55
Coach Joe Newton

1955-56
7 - 2 Coach Joe Newton

Great Coaches

*Coach
Richard Townsend -

*Overall
Boys Soccer record at Waterman - 210 - 93 - 31 !!!

*Coach
Ernie Eveland -

*Led
Waterman to State in 1931 and later coached at Paris and Cisne, becoming the fourth
all-time winningest coach in Illinois Boys Basketball history!! Had a career record
of 779-175! Ernie was named one of the top 100 legends of IHSA basketball in 2006
- check out his bio at http://www.ihsa.org/initiatives/legends/index.htm.

*Coach Bob Metcalf -

See information written at the bottom of this page.

Great Athletes in Waterman HS History

*Duane
Swanson (Class of 1930) Olympic Gold Medalist

Information provided by
Brian Hoxsey:

Duane Swanson played on Waterman's team that
went to state in basketball in 1930 (game box below). Swanson went
on to play on the 1936 US Gold Medal basketball team (below that story from USA Olympic Basketball
site)

At
four overtimes, this remains the longest game in tournament history.

Duane Swanson went on to compete in AAU
basketball and eventual played for the Universal Pictures AAU squad from California. At
the 1936 Olympic trials Swanson's team won the trials'
tournament and the 6' 02", 175 pound Duane Swanson was selected as a member fo the United States
Olympic basketball squad.Swanson's squad the Gold Medal
at the Olympic games that year!

*Jack Smiley (Class
of 1940)

Information
provided by Brian Hoxsey:

"Jack Smiley - Forward (6-foot-3) {1939-40 Senior year}

Was
named All-Little Ten in his senior year in the 1939-40 season, in which he lead his team to the Little Ten conference
tournament title. Then took his basketball talents to the University of Illinois.

"He was the first player around this area and our conference to use a one-handed shot,"said Serena guard Woodrow Hoxsey, who's Husker team defeated
Waterman in the 1939-40 regular season to take that title. "With his height
and his ability to shot from the outside, he was a tough player to defend."

The early 1940ssaw the era of the "Whiz Kids"
at Illinois, a high-scoring,
fast-breaking squad. In 1942, the team won a Big Ten title with a team of four sophomores
(one being Smiley) and a junior. Beating teams by an average
margin of 24 points, the Fighting Illini would win the Conference championshipagain in 1943, losing only one nonconference game. That season Smiley was named
to the All-Big Ten team. However, the "Kids" were not able to finish out
their college careers as all were called to service in the armed forces immediately
prior to the 1943 NCAA tournament.

Smiley played and coached basketball professionaly, first with the Fort Wayne Pistons of the NBAin 1949. That season Smiley played in 59 games, averaging 6.7 points per game. The next year he split
time between the Anderson Packers (12 games) and Waterloo Hawks
(47 games, 6.6 ppg). He was also a player/coach for 27 games, earning a 11-16
record.

He also returnedlater to coach basketball at Waterman, but his starting season
and length of tenure is unknown at this time.

**Ron Shoger
-

The following information on
this Waterman basketball star of the mid-1960s was provided to us by Brian Hoxsey. Check out Brian's
website on the history of Little Ten Conference at the web address of http://ltcbasketball.tripod.com/ .

"In the great history of the Little Ten Conference there have been many great players, many with interesting stories.
Ron Shoger would be one of those players.

Shoger quickly made a name for himself in the 1965-66 season by leading the LTC in scoring as a sophomore, averaging
23.4 points per game. Waterman, under head coach Bernie Langheim, finished 10-12 overall and tied for third
in the conference with a 7-2 record. Shoger was held under 20 points only four games all season was
named to the first team All-LTC team. His junior year Waterman finished 20-7, 7-2 (2nd) in the LTC and he again was named
All-LTC and led the league in scoring (24.2), but things would change for Shoger after that season.

“I lived on a farm on the west edge of Aurora, then our family moved to a farm outside Waterman in eighth grade,”
said Shoger. “(At Waterman) we always had a pretty good team. Our rival was Hinckley-Big
Rock and it just so happened (Hinckley-Big Rock star) Mark Voreis and I moved into DeKalb our senior years
and joined up together.”

“My dad was in the farming business. We didn’t own the farm, but we had a lot of cattle die and we had to
make ends meet. Dad got a job in DeKalb and Voreis’ dad worked in town, so it just so happened
we moved at the same time and it turned out okay.”

Ron played his senior year at Dekalb High School, helping
lead them to a fourth place finish in the State Tournament. Ron continued his basketball career at Northwestern
University in Evanston, starring there his junior and senior years.

MEMORIES

**From Dr. Peggy Jones:

"I used to Coach at Waterman Junior High /High School. I taught there from
1974-1979 and coached soccer, volleyball, and track for junior high girls during the year of 1977-1979 — that is when
they brought on sports for junior high girls.

We had an undefeated girls soccer team in 1977-78 and I was very proud of
all of the girls.

I was also assigned as the first Athletic Director in the state of Illinois
for both girls and boys sports in the spring of 1979, but then moved to Florida that fall.

When I taught at Waterman, I was Miss Heenan and Mrs.
Adams."

Need Your
Assistance

We are in need of more information regarding the many accomplishments of Waterman High School. Team records, great
coaches and players, more information on girls sports, all are needed to enhance this page. If you have any information to
share please complete a Guest Commentary Form. We are always interested in photos of the high school building and of the great teams of Waterman's past. You
can e-mail these items to us at ihsgdwebsite@comcast.net. You can also write us at:

Illinois HS Glory Days

6439 N. Neva Av.

Chicago, Il. 60631

Waterman HS Girls Athletic Association 1955-56

Waterman HS Yearbook

Waterman High School Building

Left Click on Photo for Larger Version

Waterman High School Rear of Building

Left Click on Photo for Larger Version

Waterman HS Building - 2011

Left Click on Photo for Larger View

Former Coach BOB METCALF

Information as researched by Brian Hoxsey on former Waterman HS coach Bob Metcalf:

Coached three years at school (1951-1954)

(FROM THE VALPORAISO UNIVERSITY WEBSITE)

Hall of Fame Member Bob Metcalf

Hall of Fame Class: 2001

Valpo Basketball Player: 1946-50

"He was an All-America basketball player for VU in 1949 and 1950, Bob Metcalf was described as "one of the greatest
competitors ever to wear a Crusader uniform, an honor student, and a very hard worker."

He coached basketball at three
different Illinois high schools (including Waterman) from 1950 until 1980, compiling a record of 426-269. Metcalf's teams
won 24 of 29 tournament championships and 31 total championships.

Since 1980, Metcalf spends time in China, Mongolia,
Indonesia and Sudan where he trains basketball coaches and players. He is the recipient of many awards for his coaching successes,
the most recent being his induction into the National High School Athletic Coaches Hall of Fame."

(FROM NORMAL HIGH SCHOOL WEBSITE)

"Dr.
Robert Metcalf graduated with distinction as an honor student from Valparaiso University with a Bachelor of Science Degree
in Physical Education and triple majors in chemistry, history, and mathematics. He was inducted into the Valparaiso
University Athletic Hall of Fame and as a team member to the Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame. Valparaiso has been identified
as “a college that encourages character development.” At least in Metcalf’s case, that certainly seems
to be true.

Metcalf
is a high caliber individual who has given tremendously to University High School. He first joined the school in 1961
as director of athletics and assistant professor of health and physical education. He retired from the directorship
a professor in 1982. During his tenure, Metcalf’s coaching accomplishments include taking the boy’s basketball
team to the Sweet 16 four times and under his leadership the 1971 team was inducted into the Illinois Coaches Association
(ICA) Basketball Hall of Fame. Metcalf himself is also a member of the ICA Basketball Hall of Fame and the National
High School Athletic Coaches Association (NHSACA) Hall of Fame. He ended 18 years of coaching the boy’s basketball
team with a 254-168 record. Eleven years after retirement, Metcalf came back to U-High and served as a consultant to
the boy’s basketball team for 14 years.

While
Metcalf was the boy’s head golf coach, the Pioneers took 26 championships, held second place in the State twice and
won the State Championship once. He was named ICA Golf Coach of the Year twice and named NHSACA District Golf Coach
of the Year. Metcalf also was inducted into the ICA Golf Hall of Fame, making him the first coach in the State to be
in both basketball and golf ICA Hall of Fames. In addition to his involvement with boy’s basketball and golf,
Metcalf started the boy’s cross country and the girl’s golf programs at U-High. He served as head coach
for both programs two and three years, respectively. He also served as the girl’s assistant basketball coach for
eight years after he retired.

Since
his retirement, Metcalf has been very active teaching and coaching basketball around the world. With over 11 trips to
China, Metcalf has lived in the country the equivalent of more than three years. He has taught over 1,000 Chinese coaches
in both national and provincial workshops. He has coached seven national-leveled Chinese – the first American
coach in China to do so. His high school team won the Chinese National Championship in 1987. He trained two college
teams to Chinese national championships in 1993 and 1994. Metcalf has also coached national and professional teams in
Mongolia, Indonesia, Sudan, and Hong Kong. He has written extensively on basketball and shooting fundamentals.

In
1985, Metcalf co-founded the Drug Enforcement Agency/National High School Coaches Association Drug Prevention Seminar.
He revises the materials for the Association annually and is still their seminar director. He is also founder, chairperson,
and co-organizer of the ICA/Bloomington-Normal Shrine Club annual high school all-star football game, which in its first ten
years raised over $200,000 for Shriner Hospitals.

In
recognition of his local, national, and international impact on basketball, Metcalf has received the NHSACA’s National
Distinguished Service Award, The NHSACA’s Dwight T. Keith Award, the NHSACA’s National Citation Award, and the
Illinois Coaches Basketball Association’s Buzzy O’Connor Outstanding Service Award.

In
acknowledgment of his selfless efforts, Dr. Robert Metcalf is truly a friend of University High School!":